Crab-winch.



No. 658,623. Patented Sept. 25, I900. W. T. EA DES &. E. ALLDAY.

C B A B W l N C H (Application filed June 25, 1900.)

(No Model.) 3 8heets$heet l.

WITNESSES Y INVENT'ORS W fimcm, I

M l m Mau M r Bx 4W PTTYI m: NORRIS PETERS co. PuoTo-uwo.,wAs-1mmom a.c.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES Patented Sept. 25, I900.

W. T. EADES & E. ALLDAY.

CRAB WHICH.

(Application filed. June 25, 1900.)

3 $heets-Sheat 2.

INVENTORS EDA/MA ma BY d 2 m: NORRIS PETERS CO, PNQTQ-LVYHO, WASNINGTON.o. c

(No Model.)

w. T. EADE-S & --E. ALLDA Patented Sept. 25, I900.

CRAB .WINCH.

(Application filed June 25, 1900.)

WTNESSES 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.5

INVENTORS SW mu;

xii-HWY UNTTE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM THOMAS EADES AND EDMUND ALLDAY, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

CRAB-WINCH.

SIECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,623, datedSeptember 25, 1900.

Application filed June 2 5 1 900.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM THOMAS EADES and EDMUND ALLDAY,engineers,subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at SydenhamRoad, Small Heath, Birmingham, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Crab-Winches, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has relation to crab-winches and other hoisting andlowering appliances, and also to clutches to be employed in connectionwith the load-sustainers or brakes of such appliances.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings represents an end elevation of atwo-speed crab-winch constructed, arranged, and provided withload-sustaining or brake mechanism in accordance with our invention.Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the said winch with a detail partin section. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan of the winch, the section beingtaken upon the dotted line 03, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents, upon anenlarged scale, a side elevation of the two elements of theloadsustaining clutch, while Fig. 5 is a front elevation showing thehelical face of one of the said elements. Fig. 6 is another view of thesaid clutch, showing the parts in the positions they assume when thebrake is on.

The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

The winch consists of a driving-shaft a, mounted within bearings b of asuitable frame b and having winch-handles 0, made fast to its oppositeends outside of the frame, while loosely mounted upon a part of the saidshaft within the frame are the high and low speed driving-pinions c d,which are confined upon the shaft between a pair of fixed stopcollars orkeyed-on abutment-plates c and d, with a two-way clutch device 6 locatedbetween them, whereby either the one pinion or the other is operativelyconnected to the driving-shaft, according to the weight of the load tobe raised or the speed at which the lifting is to be performed. Thisclutch may consist of a righthand thread e, formed upon the part of theshaft between the two pinions and surrounded by a corresponding screwbox or sleeve e which is prevented from ro- Serial No. 21,535. (Nomodel.)

tating by a counterpoise 6 but is traversed along the shaft in onedirection or the other, according to the direction in which the saidshaft is rotated,by means of the winch-ban .dles, and by either'pinionbeing thus clamped between the end of the sleeve and its particularstop-collar it is made fast to and transmits power from the shaft.

The high-speed pinion c intergears directly with a large toothed wheelf, made fast on the winding-drum which Works onanother shaft g, carriedby the frame, while the lowspeed pinion dintergears with a toothed wheelh, loosely mounted upon a third and non-rotating shaft 11, which hasstrung upon it the brake mechanism of the winch.

The toothed wheel his connected with a pinion h, gearing also with thelarge toothed wheelfon the winding-drum, so that when the low-speedpinion is made fast to the driving-shaft by the clutch e motion istransmitted from it to the said wheel f through the wheel h and pinionh, the high-speed pinion meanwhile running idly around the drivingshaft.

The brake device consists of an opposed pair of friction-plates j j, theplate j being keyed to the non-rotating shaftt' and the plate j beingmade fast to the outer face of the toothed wheel h, which latter iscapable of a sliding movement along the said shaft 2' for the purpose oftaking its friction-plate into or out of contact with that upon thefixed shaft.

Fitted in a recess b in the end face of the pinion h is the fixed halfof an expanding clutch 7c, consisting of a bush or sleeve encircling theshaft and screwed into the recess in the pinion, with which it rotates,while its outer end is formed into a laterally-advancing helix orcircular incline k opposed to and working against the'similarly-formedhelical face 70 of the second clutch element 73. This second partconsists of a sleeve or bush, also surrounding'the fixed shaft 1', butloosely mounted thereon and arranged to have a sliding and rotatingmovement within a bearing 10 in the main framing, While also locatedwithin the said bearing,but having only a sliding movement therein, is afeathered washer or plate m, which takes the thrust of a nut inconnection with the brakelever. The terminations of the helices on thefaces of the clutch elements have steps or shoulders k which cometogether when a load is being raised and insure that the two parts ofthe clutch shall rotate with the other parts of the gearing. The clutchelements are also provided with stops for limiting their expandingaction, which stops may be in the form of pegs k 70 at right angles toone another. (See Figs. 4, 5, and 6.)

The extreme end of the fixed carrier-shaft t' is threaded at t, and thethreaded part is encircled by a nut or interiorly-threaded boss at,which is made fast to the end of a brakelever n, which is placed in theposition represented in full lines in Fig. 1 when a load is about to beraised, and thus moves the inner face of the nut up to thepressure-plate m, the weight of the said lever, although only slight,being sufficient to insure that the helical faces shall be always fullyengaged when a load is being raised. Thus assuming that a. heavy load isabout to be raised by the winch through the medium of the low-speed gearin order to insure that the load shall be sustained by the automaticapplication of the brake during any cessation of winding the brake-levern is thrown over from the position represented in dotted lines in Fig. 1to that shown in full lines, by which means the nut is compelled totravel along the screwed end of the fixed spindle i and take its bearingagainst the pressure-plate m. So long as the wheel h and pinion h arerotating in the desired direction for raising the load both the elementsof the clutch rotate with them, and there is no change in their relativepositions; but should there be any cessation of winding then as soon asthe weight of the load begins to act upon the gearing and turn thegear-wheelbackward the clutch elements are separated by the helical faceof the member k (which turns back with the pinion h) wiping over theopposed helical face of the other and relativelyfixed member 20 wherebythe brake elements It and k are forced apart, and hence the wheel andpinion are forced laterally inward, thereby thrusting thefriction-plates j j into close frictional contact, and the load issustained.

In unwinding the drum to lower the load under control of the brake whilethe winchhandles are stationary the drivingshaft is first turned bymeans of the handles in such a direction and to such an extent as willplace the clutch-sleeve e in an intermediate position between the highand low speed pinions d and 0, whereby both of said pinions are free toturn loosely on or independent of the driving-shaft a, and then thebrake-lever n is turned over in the direction indicated by the arrow inFig. 1 to an extent sufficient to relieve the inward pressure of its nutagainst the feathered washer m, which allows the clutch elements to beseparated by the pull of the falling load to the full extent permittedby the stops k 70", as shown in Fig. 6, and as soon as these stops cometogether the clutch is incapable of further applying the brake, as thisfunction is transferred from the clutch to the screw-nut of thebrake-lever, by means of which the unwinding of the drum is kept underperfect control, it being understood that after the clutch has fullyexpanded the brake becomes hand-controlled,and the brakepressure createdby screwing up the nut more or less by means of the lever is transmittedthrough the non-rotating washer and the two members of the clutch to thebrakewheel h, which is forced into contact with its braking-surface bythe lateral thrust thus created.

We wish it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to anyparticular form of stop for preventing the overexpansion of the clutch,and thereby transferring the brakepower to the nut, as we may employ apin on the face of one part engaging in a slot on the other part or anyequivalent device which will permit of only a limited movement betweenthe two elements.

The application of our improved brake mechani m and to analogous liftingappliances di ers in no essential respect from its application to atwo-speed crabwinch, as herein described.

Having now fully described our invention, what we desire to secure byLetters Patent 1s 1. In a hoisting apparatus, the combination with awinding-drum and means for rotating the same,of a fixed shaft,abrake-wheel loosely mounted and longitudinally movable on said shaft,said brake-wheel being geared to rotate with the drum, an expandingclutch comprising two parts rotatably mounted on said fixed shaft andmovable thereon toward and from each other, one of the said clutchelements being rigid with the brake-wheel, stops for limiting theseparation of the two clutch elements, a handbrake nut screwed on thethreaded end of the fixed shaft and having a bearing against the freeelement of the clutch, a weighted handle on the nut operating tonormally hold the nut turned to thrust the clutch elements intoengagement with each other, and means ongaged by the lateral movement ofthe brakewheel for controlling the rotation of the latter, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

2. In ahoistin g apparatus, the combination with a winding-drum andmeans for rotating the same, of a fixed shaft,a brake-wheel looselymounted and longitudinally movable on said shaft and geared to rot-atewith the drum, a friction-disk fixed on the face of the brakewheel, acorresponding friction-disk fixed on the fixed shaft adjacent thereto,an expanding clutch comprising two parts rotatably'mounted on said fixedshaft and movable thereon toward and from each other, one of said clutchelements being rigid with the brake-wheel,

stops for limiting the separation of the two clutch elements,ahand-brake nut screwed on the threaded end of the fixed shaft andhaving a bearing against the free element of the clutch, and a weightedhandle on the nut operating t0 normally hold the nut turned to thrustthe clutch elements into engagement with each other while the drum isbeing turned to raise a load, the arrangement being such that when thedrum is released the clutch elements are automatically thrust apart andthe friction-disks forced together to sustain the load, whereupon thecontact between the disks, and hence the descent of the load, may becontrolled by hand through the medium of the handle on the nut,substantially as described.

3. In ahoisting apparatus, the combination with a winding-drum and agear-wheel arranged to rotate therewith, of a driving-shaft, two pinionsc and dloosely mounted thereon, the pinion c gearing directly with thesaid gear-wheel and intermediate low-speed gearing connecting the piniond with the gearwheel, the said driving-shaft being threaded between thepinions c and d, a friction-nut engaging said threaded portion of thedrivingshaft and adapted to be moved into frictional engagement witheither of the said pinions by the rotation of the driving-shaft, saidnut being provided with means for preventing its r0- tation,and anautomatic brake mechanism for controlling said drum when it is released,the arrangement being such that when the driving-shaft is turned in onedirection the nut will be forced into frictional engagement with thepinion c and cause the latter to directly rotate the drum and whenturned in the other direction will force the nut into engagement withthe pinion d and cause the latter through the intermediate speed-gearingto rotate the drum at a reduced speed, and when turned to move the nutto a point intermediate the said pinions will permit the latter to runfree whereupon the brake will operate to control the drum, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM THOMAS EADES. EDMUND ALLDAY.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR T. SADLER, GAVIN RALSTON.

